


that's just the way you make me feel

by RemoCon



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 06:04:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18654430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RemoCon/pseuds/RemoCon
Summary: Sam and Bucky go on a road trip





	that's just the way you make me feel

Sam woke up abruptly, ungracefully rolling out of bed, fists up and wishing he hadn't put the shield away for safekeeping last night.

"Oh, good. You're up," Bucky said. "I already packed for you."

The lights were still off, but Sam could just make out the duffel bag laying on the floor in front of him. He looked up at Bucky, then back down at the bag. Then he took a breath.

“Man, what the hell?”

***

No one wanted to be the first one to say it, but being at the Avengers compound was like living with ghosts. If you weren’t careful, you saw Tony heading towards the kitchen out of one eye, or Vision absentmindedly floating through a wall out the other.

Still, if you’d asked Sam who would crack first between him, Bucky, and Banner, he would’ve said the obvious choice was him. Bucky and Banner had between them more experience with frankly inhuman and deeply personal trauma than anyone should rightly be expected to survive, and they’d both managed to come out on the other side of it sane-ish.

As much of a world shifting perspective fighting Thanos’s army had been, because — space ships! thousands and thousands of actual goddamn weird-looking aliens! — it hadn’t been personal, just another war to serve in. Even if Sam still caught himself heading over to annoy Natasha and only realized once he’d started walking she wasn’t going to be there. One more person on the list of people who’d left without saying goodbye.

But here he was at ass o’clock in the morning, piling into a car against his better judgement that he was 76% sure they were technically stealing from Banner, just because Bucky was trying so hard to look like he couldn’t care less when he said, “Let’s get out of here.”

You better believe he’d made Bucky take both duffel bags to said car, though. Like hell Sam was going to carry something that had been weaponized against him so cruelly.

***

“So where exactly are we going?” Sam finally asked, as they crossed the New York State line into Pennsylvania.

“Mm,” Bucky hummed noncommittally.

“Mm,” Sam repeated. “Of course. Mm.”

The upside to being repeatedly frozen into human popsicle was, of course, having the pleasure of living long enough to know Sam personally. The downside, if there was any downside that outweighed that, was it didn’t give a person a real sense of musical continuity between the last time they’d listened to the radio and now.

Sam had been in a kind enough mood, letting the playlist rotate through songs Bucky would recognize, whether from his youth or from his recent forced musical education Sam had been so generously providing.

“Mm,” Sam said again, hitting play on the first track on Beyonce’s seminal album, Lemonade.

Hydra would be proud; outside of a nearly imperceptible tightening of his grip on the steering wheel, Bucky didn’t react.

Until two minutes later, that is, when they passed by one of those roadside attraction signs, advertising some world famous pancakes, and Bucky turned so quickly onto the off ramp, Sam slammed into the side door.

“Oops,” Bucky said, definitely not smiling, in the way that meant he thought he was hilarious.

“Fuck you.”

***

“Here,” Bucky said, sliding his phone to Sam between several now-empty plates and more empty coffee cups than was probably healthy to consume.

The headline read: Captain Americaland Set to Open after Five Year Construction Hiatus.

Sam was still laughing when Bucky flagged down their waitress to get the check, five minutes later.

***

Other highlights in the article included the fact that the park would be opening in a town called Rogersville; that the park promised a food called Star-Spangled Ham; and that the “real” Captain America would be onsite for the grand opening.

“It’s not that funny,” Bucky sighed, half an hour later after they’d piled back into the car, trying to swipe back his phone.

“Eyes on the road,” Sam said mockingly, holding the phone just out of Bucky’s reach. “It’d be a shame if we died here and didn’t make it to the grand opening.”

Bucky sighed again.

“See if I buy you a Star-Spangled Ham with that attitude,” he said.

It was really unfair, Sam thought, as he dissolved into laughter again. Steve had gone on and on about what a great guy Bucky really was, but he’d never mentioned that sense of humor that just kept catching Sam off guard.

***

“Okay, I have to know,” Sam said, a couple more states later, after Bucky had pulled over to get gas. “How the hell did you even find out about this? It’s not exactly front page news.”

“Do you want anything?” Bucky asked, gesturing at the small store behind the pumps. “I’m going to go pay.”

“Keep paying for everything in cash, and people might think you’ve got something to hide,” Sam said, trying to keep his face straight. Bucky looked to his left, then to his right, then straight back at Sam.

“I don’t know,” he said, “If you ask me, I think there might be two international fugitives here. Better be on your toes.”

Sam was too busy laughing to even ask for that Diet Coke he’d been craving, but Bucky came back a few minutes later and tossed a Diet Coke to him anyway. A delicate feeling settled into Sam’s chest; the awareness of being known.

“Don’t think you can bribe your way out of this,” Sam said, leaning back against the car as Bucky popped open the gas tank. “Fess up. How’d you know?”

Bucky looked up to the sky, as if praying for strength. Then he sighed and said briefly, “Google alert.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“What?” Bucky snapped.

“No, it’s not bad,” Sam said, putting his hands up placatingly. “Just, surprisingly normal. You’ve got google alerts set up for what, anything related to Steve?”

“Yes,” Bucky said, curt enough to end the conversation. Sam would have let him, but then -- “Just since -- just since he came back. Just in case.”

Just in case something happened, and no one around Steve now knew how to contact them.

“Come on,” Bucky said, hanging up the gas pump and heading back to the driver’s side. “We’ve still got a couple more hours to go.”

***  
The next hour they passed in silence, watching the scenery go by. Steve wasn’t gone like Natasha was gone, but knowing he’d had a whole life that didn’t include either of them in some ways cut much deeper. It made Sam think back to his VA group sessions fondly -- everyone there had a problem someone else could relate to, someone they could look to for advice and comfort. There wasn’t really a manual for, “My best friend travelled back in time and is now a 100 year old man I barely know.”

Then, just as Sam was thinking it was time to break the silence, Bucky cleared his throat.

“I don’t think I ever said thank you,” he said. “For being there for him when I couldn’t.”

“You don’t have to thank me, man. You put up with your fair share of his stupid.”

For the first time all day, it was Bucky’s turn to be startled into a laugh.

“My very last day before I left for the war,” he said, “you know where I met up with Steve? In an alley, where he was probably about to be murdered by a couple guys he’d challenged to a fight.”

“That sounds about right,” Sam said, chuckling.

“I suppose that’s why I wasn’t surprised,” Bucky continued. “Steve always did what he wanted, and no one could tell him any different.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck,” Sam pointed out, in case it needed to be said.

“True. But... ” Bucky trailed off.

“But?”

Bucky shrugged, and went silent again. Sam watched him for a little, then turned back on his “being kind” playlist.

***

As they pulled into the parking lot, Sam discovered that it was everything he never knew he wanted from a Captain America theme park. It looked like a theme park someone had uncovered in an archeological dig of a 1950s site, and as soon as he stepped out of the car he could hear “Star-Spangled Man with a Plan” playing through tinny speakers set up along the walkway to the park entrance.

Based on the cars in the lot, it looked like the entire town had showed up for the opening. It also looked like Bucky and Sam were the only out-of-towners who had any idea this was happening.

“I gotta say, I was wondering why we drove all the way out here for this,” Sam said, as they stood there for a moment, taking it in.

“Well,” Bucky said, “I figured Steve wouldn’t be here, but I could at least bring them Captain America.”

“Fuck,” Sam breathed, staring at the small smile on Bucky’s lips one second, and leaning forward to kiss him the next.

When he pulled back, that small smile had spread. In fact, it might have been contagious, because Sam could feel himself smiling like a loon too.

“Smooth, Barnes,” Sam said. “Real smooth.”

“Who knows,” Bucky said in a voice Sam might even qualify as cheeky. “Play your cards right, and a Star-Spangled Ham might be in your future after all.”

***

Sam learned three main things in the park.

1\. Bucky loved roller coasters, especially creaky wooden ones that seemed liable to careen off the tracks at any moment.  


2\. Bucky wasn’t allowed to play any more shooting games, because after he won the biggest teddy bear from three stalls in a row the park employees started saying things like “lifetime ban at the park.”  


3\. The Star-Spangled Ham was in fact a hot dog.

***

“Come on,” Sam said, taking Bucky’s hand, and dragging him into line. “We have to get at least one picture before we leave.”

“Why, hello there,” the Captain America impersonator said, when they reached the front. “How are you two gentlemen doing today?”

“Fantastic,” Sam said, a little too enthusiastically. “And can I say, it’s an honor to meet you, sir. We’re big fans.”

“Huge fans,” Bucky added.

“It’s an honor to meet you two, as well,” Captain America said, the height of professionalism. “Are you ready? Freedom on three. One, two, three!”

“Freedom!” they all shouted.

“Not a joke,” Sam said, after he’d paid and gotten the full set of pictures from the attendant a little ways down, “I am going to get these framed.”

“We should send one to Steve,” Bucky said offhandedly, distracted by another precariously built ride in front of them.

“Fuck, yes,” Sam agreed.

He wasn’t usually a Christmas card sort of guy; hell, he had been away for more of them than he’d been home over the last fifteen years. But he was an optimistic sort of guy. If he played his cards right, he had some big plans for this picture this year.

***

“I booked us a motel in town,” Bucky said.

“Sounds good,” Sam said, settling back against his seat. “Let’s go.”

“I, ah, only got one room,” Bucky said. Who would believe him, Sam thought fondly, if he told them he had the most feared assassin in the entire world trying his damndest not to blush beside him.

“Designs on my honor, I see,” Sam said, just to watch Bucky squirm a little, because maybe they weren’t in quite the same place with each as other as they’d been this morning, but they hadn’t magically become different people.

But if he had to rank this day in his running list of Best Days, it has scored pretty damn near the top. So he relented maybe just a little sooner than he might have before.

“Good, then we’re on the same page.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Bucky said.

They drove out of the lot, and into the town, which had a charming rural appearance just this side of lived in, instead of looking full-on Hallmark special. Steve and Sam had stopped in a lot of places all over the globe, when they’d been on the run after the whole Accords debacle. But Sam never got tired of seeing these glimpses of real life. It was the best reminder of why it was they did what they did.

And staring at the houses was a great way to stop himself from just forcing Bucky to pull the car over and letting him have his way with him right here. Dying of embarrassment after getting caught by a random Southern lady would be a bad way to go out.

“So,” Sam said, trying to stay focused in a PG way. “What were you going to say earlier?”

“Hm?”

“When we were talking about Steve,” Sam said, tilting his head just so to get a better view of Bucky’s profile.

Bucky was quiet for a minute, thinking it over. Sam could see the second it came to him, a small, almost embarrassed smile curling his lips.

“Ah,” he said. “I was going to say but it wasn’t as lonely as I was afraid it might be. Since you’re around.”

“Goddammit, Barnes,” Sam sighed dramatically. “It’s not a competition to see who has all the best pickup lines.”

“But just so we’re clear, I’m winning, right?” Bucky asked, a wicked twinkle in his eye.

“Captain America is above such petty competitions,” Sam said, in his best “Steve doing a PSA” impression.

Bucky laughed all the way to the motel.

Sam could get used to hearing that more often. And he fully intended to pay Bucky back tomorrow morning. He just hadn’t quite decided whether he’d be getting one or two duffel bags to the head.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to thefandomwing, et al. for the late night beta-read!


End file.
